Rory McIlroy’s is 4.52. Tiger Woods’s sits at 4.38. Phil Mickelson’s is lower still, 4.26. The figures in question? Average scores at Augusta National’s par-five 13th hole when playing the Masters.
There is an argument that par is merely a scoring tool, that it should not be taken seriously into account when course setup is considered. But in this corner of Georgia, it has long been assumed the custodians of the Masters do not take kindly to a hole being butchered by competitors in the style that has transpired at “Azalea” where from tee to green, there are approximately 1,600 of the flowers.
This Masters edition will have a new tee, built 35 yards back from the previous markers, step firmly into play. Those who have already driven from the tee box explain it may as well have been in place for five decades. Building work undertaken at Augusta is never conspicuous.
Reports have suggested Augusta National paid $20m to neighbouring Augusta Country Club for the land required to amend the 13th. This club has a level of resource that renders such a transaction perfectly straightforward. Others have neither the cash nor the space to expand; hence the debate about whether balls need to be modified.
The logic of the Masters committee is simple – attempt to stop players comfortably cutting the corner of the right-to-left dog leg from the tee, from which point they would have a short iron second shot into the par five. Underpinning the amendment is the sense that this hole should be played in the manner intended by the architect, Alister MacKenzie. This is the most meaningful alteration made to the course in umpteen years.
“It’s important that it is a reachable par five, otherwise it just turns into a three-shot hole and you change one of the most exciting holes in golf,” says Tommy Fleetwood. “I don’t think you should be able to hit a wedge in, you should have to shape it off the tee and then have a decision to make. You could take it on and make an eagle or make a double bogey.
“If you make it too long, everyone is hitting a wedge in and it becomes like a 100-yard par three. You can’t have shots like Mickelson’s from the trees [in 2010] if you are standing with 270yds left and just have to lay up.”
Fleetwood’s theme is a recurring one, that there is a danger some of the drama could have been removed. Dustin Johnson said he will lay up short of Rae’s Creek with his second shot if he has anything longer than a five-iron in his hand. To get closer, players need to hit an almighty hook with their drive.
“It’s obviously a response to the modern game, technology and Augusta not liking people hitting eight- or nine-irons into that green,” says Luke Donald, Europe’s Ryder Cup captain. “A few people can do that, not too many. It looks now like everyone driving to the one spot and being left with a long iron or a hybrid in and, I suppose, going back to the way the course designer wanted the hole to be played.
“It makes the hole a little less interesting because even from where the tee was, to cut the corner takes some guts alongside ball speed. Taking that play out eliminates risk.”
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Another element to the 13th is the slope on the fairway, markedly from right to left. “It’s a hard approach shot even if you have a nine-iron in your hand,” says Will Zalatoris. “The ball is so far above your feet. Even if the pin is in the back left, you are aiming for the right side of the green.”
During his pre-tournament address, Augusta National’s chairman, Fred Ridley, said weather conditions could determine the attitudes of players to the 13th. For spectators gathered behind the 12th tee, the 13th tee is barely now visible.
“It’s just the way the game is going,” says the former Open champion Francesco Molinari. “For guys like me, it could almost be an easier tee shot because I don’t have to hook it round the trees any more.
“You might see a lot more guys laying up, which takes a little bit of the fun out of it. Hopefully they can move the tee up and down a little bit so it’s a different challenge every day.”
Augusta saw fit to meddle with a work of art. The reaction of participants in the 87th Masters will be closely monitored.
